The present invention relates generally to a behavior modification system, and more specifically to a system which includes housings for a video tape recording system which when mounted in a school bus with a video camera and a video cassette recorder contained therein can monitor and keep a video history of activity in the passenger seating area and wherein when the housings are empty have the appearance of being a fully operational monitoring system.
The instant invention is generally related to the field of surveillance and monitoring and more particularly relates to the ongoing problems with discipline on school buses. Most of the time the only adult on a school bus is the driver and it is usually the driver""s responsibility to drive the bus in a safe manner in addition to maintaining the discipline of the students riding on the bus. A lack of discipline among the students on a school bus can be very distracting for the driver and can potentially be the cause of a serious accident.
Most school districts rely on the school bus driver to report incidents involving a lack of discipline to a transportation director who in turn must either take action to remedy the situation or report the incident to the school systems"" administration for remedial action. In either case the foremost concern is to alleviate the possibility of an accident or injury.
The problem frequently encountered when attempts are made to remedy a situation involving discipline of students is the denial by the students and/or the disbelief by parents of the reports of unacceptable behavior on the bus. All too often disputes over the validity of the report are the focus of discussions and the unacceptable behavior is left uncorrected. The result being that the behavior pattern which may cause an accident or injury is unchanged and the bus driver is then in the position of having to transport a student or group of students who have not been properly disciplined after having been involved in a reported and disputed incident. Situations such as this are not uncommon and often result in worse behavior problems that in turn result in more situations with the potential for accidents or injury.
Monitoring systems in vehicular environments are known and various approaches have been taken. One approach, depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,679, shows a camera mounted in the inside of a taxi such that a photo record of all the passengers can be accurately provided. Another approach, depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,818, shows a tape recording system and weapon system for dealing with airplane hijackers. Yet another approach, found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,463, shows a tape recording system in a vehicle used to keep a record of information concerning the operation of the vehicle.
The one viable prior known answer to the problem of maintaining discipline on school buses has been to have a parent volunteer ride the bus and help the driver. Other than this, there has not been a viable solution proposed and there is no known prior art which teaches a behavior modification system as disclosed and claimed herein.
According to the present invention, a behavior modification system includes housings, which when mounted in a school bus with a videotape recording system contained therein, is a fully operational monitoring system which can monitor and keep a video taped history of activity in the passenger area and, which when empty, have the appearance of being a fully operational monitoring system. The apparatus for housing includes a housing for a video camera, a housing for a video cassette recorder, and an adjustable bracket for the mounting of the camera housing above a driver area in the school bus. The video tape recording system for keeping a video taped history of activity occurring in the passenger seating area in the bus includes a power converter, a video cassette recorder, and a video camera.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a behavior modification system for school buses.
It is another object of the invention to provide a monitoring system for school buses which will result in a video history of activity occurring in the passenger seating area.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide apparatus for housing a video tape recording system in school buses which, when the housings are empty, appears to be a fully operational monitoring system.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a behavior modification system which overcomes the problems found in the prior art and which is relatively simple to use after installation.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent and understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.